Me Ol' Bamboo
Encyclopedia
"Me Ol' Bamboo" is a song written by the Sherman Brothers
for the motion picture Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
. It was originally written to be choreographed as a morris dance
(although the dance has much more in common with the Căluşari
) for the film by Marc Breaux
and Dee Dee Wood
(Mary Poppins
, The Happiest Millionaire
, The Sound of Music
) and adapted for the stage by choreographer Gillian Lynne
who also created the choreography for Cats
and The Phantom of the Opera
.
Sherman Brothers
The Sherman Brothers are an American songwriting duo that specialize in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman ....
for the motion picture Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (film)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a 1968 musical film with a script by Roald Dahl and Ken Hughes, and songs by the Sherman Brothers, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car. It starred Dick Van Dyke as Caractacus Potts and Sally Ann Howes as Truly Scrumptious. The...
. It was originally written to be choreographed as a morris dance
Morris dance
Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. Implements such as sticks, swords, handkerchiefs and bells may also be wielded by the dancers...
(although the dance has much more in common with the Căluşari
Calusari
The Căluşari were the members of a Romanian fraternal secret society who practiced a ritual acrobatic dance known as the căluş. According to the Romanian historian Mircea Eliade, the Calusari were known for "their ability to create the impression of flying in the air" which he believed represented...
) for the film by Marc Breaux
Marc Breaux
Marc Breaux is an American choreographer and occasional film director best known for his work on musical films of the 1960s and 1970s. Most of his well known work was in collaboration with Dee Dee Wood to whom he was married for many years...
and Dee Dee Wood
Dee Dee Wood
Dee Dee Wood is an American Choreographer best known for her work on musical films of the 1960s and 1970s. Most of her well known work was in collaboration with Marc Breaux, to whom she was married for many years. Much of Wood's most recognized work was also in collaboration with the songwriting...
(Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins (film)
Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by...
, The Happiest Millionaire
The Happiest Millionaire
The Happiest Millionaire is a 1967 musical film starring Fred MacMurray and based upon the true story of Philadelphia millionaire Anthony J. Drexel Biddle. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Costume Design by Bill Thomas. The musical song score is by Robert and Richard Sherman...
, The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music (film)
Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is based on the Broadway musical The Sound of Music, with songs written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and with the musical...
) and adapted for the stage by choreographer Gillian Lynne
Gillian Lynne
Gillian Barbara Lynne , CBE, born , is a British ballerina, dancer, actor, theatre director, television director and choreographer noted for her popular theatre choreography associated with the iconic musicals Cats and the current longest running show in Broadway history, The Phantom of the Opera.-...
who also created the choreography for Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
and The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
.
- The song and dance are performed by Dick Van DykeDick Van DykeRichard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...
and about fifteen other men.
- On Remembering Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with Dick Van DykeDick Van DykeRichard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...
, Van Dyke says that Me Ol' Bamboo was one of the most difficult dancing acts he ever undertook.
- In the film, Caractacus PottsCaractacus PottsCaractacus Potts is one of the main characters in the family film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He is an eccentric inventor who lives with his twin eight-year-old children, Jeremy & Jemima, and Grandpa Potts, on the Potts' hilltop farm...
does the dance to escape an angry victim of his malfunctioning hair-cutting machine. The dance involves the use of bamboo sticks as props. At the end of the dance, Potts collects enough money to buy Chitty.
- The song is a light-spirited song about different men and their various usages of cane-like apparati. Songwriter/lyricist Robert B. ShermanRobert B. ShermanRobert Bernard Sherman is an American songwriter who specializes in musical films with his brother Richard Morton Sherman...
was inspired to write the song by his own use of a bamboo walking stick. Sherman was wounded in the knee in World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
which is why he walks with a cane.
In popular culture
- The song has been parodied in Family GuyFamily GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
episode 420 as "A Bag o' Weed". - In Big Brother 10 (UK) contestants had to memorize and perform the dance routine from this song in order to earn a luxury shopping budget during the third week.
- In the 1975 film SmileSmile (1975 film)Smile is a 1975 film directed by American director Michael Ritchie, with a screenplay by Jerry Belson, about a beauty pageant in Santa Rosa, California. It stars Bruce Dern and Barbara Feldon and introduced a number of young actresses who later went on to greater success and recognition, such as...
directed by Michael RitchieMichael Ritchie (film director)Michael Brunswick Ritchie was an American film director.Ritchie was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, the son of Patricia and Benbow Ferguson Ritchie...
, the Young American Miss Pageant contestants sing a very off key version over and over while Michael KiddMichael KiddMichael Kidd was an American film and stage choreographer.-Life and career:Born Milton Greenwald in New York City on the Lower East Side, the son of Abraham Greenwald, an immigrant barber, and his wife Lillian, Michael Kidd moved to Brooklyn with his family and attended New Utrecht High School there...
tries to choreograph the number.